Bowden Is Back

On Sunday, the 23-year-old righty pitched his third straight quality start, allowing 1 run on 4 hits in 6 IP in an 8-1 win at Syracuse.

On the last day of May, Bowden was 1-2 with a 5.83 ERA, but in his six starts since, Michael is 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA (8 ER in 36.2 IP).

“We’re very comfortable when he’s in the ballgame,” manager Torey Lovullo told me.“At the start of spring training, he had a little bit of a bumpy road to get to this point, but the bottom line is that he’s throwing the ball very well right now.He’s giving himself a chance to compete and ultimately get back to the big leagues.I was very aware of Michael Bowden from managing against him for the past few years and I liked what I saw because he attacks the zone.He had to play catch-up because of a small injury in spring training, and it was frustrating for him and he started battling some issues here and there, but he’s thrown the ball very well over the last five or six games, and we’re looking for that to continue.”

Bowden’s next start is schedule for Friday at McCoy Stadium against Scranton/WB.He’ll enter that game with a streak of 14.2 consecutive scoreless innings at home.

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Michael Bowden was not the only standout on Sunday as cleanup hitter Ryan Shealy went 3-for-4 with a single, double, home run, and 4 RBI.

(photo courtesy of Louriann Mardo-Zayat)

Shealy and I have something in common – we both attended colleges that feature blue and orange as their uniform colors:I’m a Syracuse grad while Shealy is a former University of Florida Gator.

But unlike Shealy, I do not have a gigantic display of school pride in my home.

“I have a 6-foot bronzed alligator that my sister got for me as a college graduation present,” Shealy told me with a laugh.“He’s huge – it’s a real alligator that had been bronzed and it is in my living room.I call him ‘Tater’ and that’s probably one of my favorite things.”

The PawSox manager says that Coello has something that scouts look for – the ability to throw a fastball in a fastball count and still get a swing and a miss.

“I didn’t know anything about Robert Coello when he got to this level except for a phone call that (Director of Player Development) Mike Hazen made to me saying that he has the highest percentage of swings and misses on fastballs in the organization,” Lovullo said.“There’s a lot to be said for that.His fastball is downhill and watching from my perspective, he has a big league arm.Guys can be zoning up his pitch and they’re still not putting a good swing on it – in fact they swing and miss, and that doesn’t happen very often in baseball.”

The news wasn’t great for the PawSox either as Bubba Bell got hit by a pitch on the right shin on Saturday and had to leave the game.He rolled-up his pant leg on the bus ride to the stadium on Sunday to reveal a nasty-looking bruise in the exact size and shape of a baseball.

(photo courtesy of Kelly O’Connor)

The timing was awful because Bubba is swinging a white-hot bat.The 27-year-old outfielder has a 7-game hitting streak, going 14-for-23 (.609) with 3 2B, 2 HR, and 8 RBI.In his last 15 games, Bell is 21-for-45 (.467) with 4 2B, 3B, 3 HR, and 10 RBI.

“He’s a tough kid and he’ll be back in there in a couple of days,” Torey Lovullo said.“He was x-rayed and there are no issues in terms of breaks or fractures and that was a very good sign.Injuries are part of baseball and they happen every single year.The Boston Red Sox have gone through a disastrous stage and they’re managing to win ballgames.We’re looking to do that too.”

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As I’ve mentioned before, the PawSox have two huge soccer fans that have been completely obsessed with the World Cup in Lars Anderson and Ryan Kalish.

But on Saturday when several players gathered around the big screen TV in the clubhouse to watch the match between the US and Ghana, no one was getting more excited than pitcher Chad Paronto.

(photo courtesy of Kelly O’Connor)

In Chad’s case it was a matter of patriotism.

“I hate soccer,” Paronto told me, “but I love America.”

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The PawSox conclude their 8-game road trip on Monday night as they face Syracuse at 7:00.I hope you’ll join us for radio coverage beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 on the PawSox radio network and pawsox.com.

I’d love to hear from you.Please take a moment to tell me who you are and where you’re from in the comments section or you can e-mail me at dhoard@pawsox.com.

About Me

I began writing this blog when I was a broadcaster for the Pawtucket Red Sox before leaving the team at the end of the 2011 season to become the radio voice of the Cincinnati Bengals. I am also the radio play-by-play announcer for University of Cincinnati football and basketball. Thanks to all of you who began reading this blog for content about Red Sox prospects. I will always cherish my time with the PawSox.
I still plan to write about baseball and will post all of my blog entries about the Bengals and Bearcats on this blog as well. I welcome your questions and/or comments at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.NFL.Net

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